So, about these privately controlled state economic development organizations ...

Increasingly, states' pro-business organizations — like JobsOhio here — are publicly funded but privately controlled and not particularly transparent.That's the conclusion of this analysis by The Center for Public Integrity.Ohio and about 10 other states “have given control over lucrative corporate tax incentives” to organizations “which are often run by the states' most influential businessmen, generally at the pleasure of the governor,” according to the Center for Public Integrity.Supporters “say these partnerships are more nimble than government bureaucracies and are insulated from the vagaries of electoral politics,” the center notes. “But both liberal and conservative watchdog groups say the practice takes a government function already prone to mismanagement and obfuscation and makes the situation worse by giving oversight of business incentives to businesses themselves.”JobsOhio, created in 2011, operates as an independent nonprofit, “exempting it from most state ethics and open records laws and, as of this year, from government audits,” the center says.The story then offers a quick overview of the numerous controversies JobsOhio has encountered in its brief history.“What they've done is taken a system that didn't have a whole lot of disclosure and wasn't that great a system under any governor, and they've privatized it so that you don't know what's going on with all those public dollars,” says Brian Rothenberg, executive director of ProgressOhio, a liberal group, that has sued the state, arguing the liquor sales lease is illegal.

The best intentions ...

I'd argue that Gov. John Kasich has done the right thing in going to some unusual lengths to expand Medicaid in Ohio. But this Washington Post story looks at the political price he could pay, and a Wall Street Journaleditorial goes so far as to blast what it calls the governor's “lawless, faith-based Obamacaid expansion.”Bucking the GOP-controlled Legislature — which rejected the idea of accepting $2.56 billion in federal money for the program through June 2015 — Gov. Kasich “got the seven-member, little-known Controlling Board to approve the expansion after replacing two of the board's members,” The Post notes. The move “could provide Medicaid coverage to between 275,000 and 330,000 Ohioans, according to estimates.”

In the near term, “this positions the first-term governor well for his 2014 re-election bid,” according to the newspaper. “Kasich has done plenty of things to make moderate and liberal voters angry, including signing several abortion restrictions into law this summer, and signing restrictions on collective bargaining rights that were ultimately repealed by voters. But he's also toned down his rhetoric, on issues ranging from unions to gay rights.”But the story notes that the Ohio Liberty Coalition, which is aligned with the tea party, tweeted this week: “Amazed here at the amount of hubris displayed by the Kasich administration to bypass both the people and the legislature.”And Tuesday, conservative lawmakers and groups filed suit to stop Medicaid expansion in Ohio unless the full Legislature grants approval. (You can read the lawsuit here.)In other words, The Post says, “Kasich made a smart move this week if he wants to stay in the governor's mansion for another four years. But if he's eyeing 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, he may have to do a little explaining to the GOP base.”Meanwhile, The Journal's editorial, headlined “Medicaid and the Apostle Kasich,” begins this way:Believe it or not, there are still a few disciples with faith in an ObamaCare higher power, and one of them happens to run Ohio. Governor John Kasich is so fervent a believer that he is even abusing his executive power to join the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion.Not to be sacrilegious, but the Republican used to know better. Now Mr. Kasich seems to view signing up for this part of ObamaCare as an act of Christian charity and has literally all but claimed that God told him to do so.The problem, the normally Kasich-friendly Journal says, “is that his evangelizing failed to convert the Ohio legislature, which is run by Republicans who understand the brutal budget and regulatory realities of participating in new Medicaid. So Mr. Kasich simply decided to cut out Ohio's elected representatives and expand Medicaid by himself.”

And then it really lays down the smack for a conservative, saying. “It's a gambit worthy of President Obama, who also asserts unilateral powers to suspend laws that displease him and bypass Congress.”

The good life

If your spouse or significant other comes on a business trip with you, who foots the bill?“If you're a CEO, a senior executive or even a part-time corporate director, your company may be covering the cost — often on top of seven-figure compensation packages and other perks ranging from cars and country club memberships to cash allowances,” USA Todayreports, in a story that includes looks at the policies of Northeast Ohio companies Parker Hannifin and Applied Industrial Technologies.At a time when some companies are under shareholder pressure to rein in excessive pay and benefits, “many continue to offer a little-known perk buried in the fine print of Securities & Exchange Commission filings: the business travel tab of the spouses and significant others of CEOs, senior execs and board members,” the newspaper says.Its analysis of corporate proxies found “scores paying for travel, lodging and meals for business-related events, corporate junkets, even attendance at last summer's Olympics in London. In some cases, companies even covered executives' taxes on spousal travel reimbursements because it was considered income.”Companies “say covering spousal travel costs fosters better relationships among directors, execs and employees,” according to the newspaper. “But corporate governance experts say spousal travel benefits for well-compensated execs and part-time directors cross the line.”USA Today notes that industrial parts maker Parker Hannifin says spousal travel reimbursement helps "encourage executive officers to spend an appropriate amount of time with their direct reports in locations away from corporate headquarters, to allow executive officers and their spouses to develop a more personal relationship with the executive officers' subordinates and their families, and to encourage spouses to attend retirement parties, funerals, business dinners and other corporate functions at locations away from their homes."After reviewing its executive perk and benefits plan, Applied Industrial Technologies “ended spousal travel pay and related taxes as well as reimbursing employees for child-care costs while they were on business trips,” according to the story. The manufacturing supplier says such perks are no longer warranted to attract and retain "superior employees for key positions."Applied Industrial “also jettisoned other perks commonly provided to senior execs, including car allowances, club memberships and financial planning.”You also can follow me on Twitter for more news about business and Northeast Ohio.

Morning Roundup

Business headlines from Crain's Cleveland Business and other Ohio newspapers — delivered FREE to your inbox every morning. Sign up for the Morning Newsletter.